Energy firm Equinor has awarded Norwegian contractor Aibel a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for Norway’s Hammerfest LNG plant modification.
Equinor noted that that the contract has been awarded on behalf of the Snøhvit Unit partners and corresponds to the “Snøhvit Future” project.
The FEED contract is valued at approximately Nkr140m ($15.8m).
It comprises two sub-projects, one for constructing an onshore compression station at the Hammerfest LNG plant and the other for investigating electrification of the plant to minimise Snøhvit’s carbon footprint.
Equinor chief procurement officer Peggy Krantz-Underland said: “Snøhvit Future is a complex project that will require large modification work at the Hammerfest LNG plant.
“By awarding the FEED contract to Aibel we enable continuity and experience transfer. Aibel knows the plant well, having provided maintenance and modification services there since the production start in 2007”.
The Snøhvit Unit partners are Equinor, Petoro, Total, Neptune Energy and Wintershall Dea. Equinor is the operator of the field.
Equinor and partners plan a concept select decision for the compression scope during autumn this year and for the electrification scope by the end of this year.
Aibel President and CEO Mads Andersen said: “We are excited to become part of further development of the future LNG plant at Melkøya, where we already have a long and good track record from our modification and maintenance contract.
“We also have strong expertise from several similar projects. At the same time, we are very pleased that Equinor has chosen us as a partner for important projects on the NCS for the third time in a short period of time”.
In February, Aibel secured work for the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for Equinor’s Bacalhau field offshore Brazil.
